Ayrshire Scotland Business News is provided by the Elite Ayrshire Business Circle, an association of some of the top companies in Ayrshire. We publicise our members, and celebrate and report the wealth and rich diversity of entrepreneurial and business excellence that abounds here in Ayrshire, south-west Scotland. For further information e-mail Murdoch@eliteayrshire.com

The Elite Ayrshire Business Circle

Monday, 26 November 2012

Ayr wins Racecourse Association Showcase Award

Ayr Racecourse won a prestigious Showcase Award in the Owners Experience category at the annual Racecourse Association Showcase Awards, which took place at York Racecourse last Thursday.

Newly introduced for 2012, the Owners Experience Award was won by the Ayrshire course, with the independent judging panel commending the team for their implementation of high quality Owners’ hospitality and welcoming approach.

The Racecourse developed new strategies to make sure that all Owners attending a raceday felt special through improvement of their complimentary food offering and the warm welcome they receive upon arrival at the course.

This approach saw a number of high profile owners praise the course’s facilities and an average rate of 75% of owners with runners attending on the day.

RCA Chairman Ian Barlow commented: “I am absolutely delighted to see the breadth and depth of excellence and innovation on British racecourses, as highlighted by all of tonight’s winners and all those shortlisted.

“Owners are the biggest financial contributors to the sport. Ensuring they have a fantastic time at the racecourse is one of the best ways of rewarding them. I am delighted to see Ayr excel in this critical area. Congratulations to the team at Ayr on such a fantastic job.”

Ayr Racecourse Chairman Alan Macdonald (pictured above) commented: “We are naturally delighted to win such a prestigious award and are also very proud to do so. We realise how important owners are and to know our efforts are appreciated by our peers is encouraging.

“We look forward to 2013 and to welcoming owners old and new to our track alongside racegoers as we continue to strive to ensure the racing experience at Ayr is among the best in the country.”

Ayr Racecourse was also a finalist in the Food and Beverage Category.

The Showcase Awards Dinner followed on from a daytime programme of seminars and idea sharing where racecourses were able to share best practice and good ideas in improving the raceday experience. Guest speakers included Jamie Aitchison of Channel 4 and Michael Caulfield of Sporting Edge.

For more information about the RCA Showcase Awards, please contact Sam Cone or Holly Cook on 01344 626067 or for Ayr Racecourse contact Iain Ferguson on 07795 565691.

THE EDITORThe Editor of Ayrshire Scotland Business News is Murdoch MacDonald, a graduate of Magdalene College, Cambridge University, where his journalistic contemporaries included John Simpson, now World Affairs Editor with the BBC, and Alan Rusbridger, Editor of the Guardian. Murdoch MacDonald has been in the public relations industry and a freelance journalist and broadcaster for more than 35 years.He has handled the PR accounts of many top Scottish companies, including Royal Bank of Scotland, Standard Life, John Menzies, Kwik-Fit and Barratt Homes.

He has hosted his own family finance programmes - "£s, Pence and Sense" on Radio Forth and "Moneywise" on Scottish Television.He now runs Ayrshire’s top PR consultancy Fame Publicity Services.

Wherever you are in the world, no other public relations consultancy, PR firm or publicity company can offer you a better or more cost-effective worldwide news distribution service, combined with search engine optimisation techniques that will drive customers and qualified sales leads to your company's website.

Murdoch MacDonald is also managing director of the Elite Ayrshire Business Circle, an association of some of the top companies in Ayrshire.Telephone: 01292 281498E-mail: Murdoch@eliteayrshire.com

Murdoch and his wife Lilian (pictured above) have written a book called "Phoenix in a Bottle", describing how they overcame alcoholism and are now, contrary to conventional wisdom, able to drink alcohol responsibly again. "Phoenix in a Bottle" is published by Melrose Books price £16.99 and is now available worldwide.Reviewing the book, eminent American addiction expert Dr Stanton Peele PhD commented:

“Phoenix in a Bottle is a modern version of The Days of Wine and Roses, and tells the true story of how two people who entered a period of desperate drinking stayed with one another in a close loving relationship, and emerged from their alcoholism able to drink responsibly again.

“Both a wonderful love story and a challenge to conventional wisdom about how people can recover from drinking problems, Phoenix in a Bottle gives people hope, and helps them to confront their own demons - alcohol or otherwise.”

And now "Phoenix in a Bottle" has been selected as a set text by a top American university.

“Phoenix in a Bottle” by Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald will now be required reading for all doctoral students in a psychology programme at Alliant International University in San Diego, California.

Alliant International University, headquartered in San Diego and San Francisco, California, was formed in 2001 by the merger of the California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP) and the United States International University. Alliant has 6 campuses throughout California and also runs programmes in Mexico City, Hong Kong and Tokyo. The California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant is one of the premier psychology schools in the US, and it counts roughly half the licensed clinical psychologists in California as its alumni.

Dr. Gary W. Lawson is Professor of Psychology at CSPP. He says: “I adopted Phoenix in a Bottle because the dilemma this couple struggled with and the questions they ask themselves are like so many others I have encountered in 35 years of clinical experience treating addictions.“However, nowhere in addiction literature have I seen these issues examined and explained as well as Lilian and Murdoch do in Phoenix in a Bottle.“I also recommend Phoenix in a Bottle to many of my patients as well.”

You can buy "Phoenix in a Bottle" by Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald online now direct from Amazon UK (click on book cover image below).